


Distorted Deity|Distorted Destinies

by MikaOtter



Category: Evo SMP - Fandom, Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Alternate Universe - Watchers, Developing Friendships, First Meetings, Hermit Taurtis, Hermitcraft s6, Hurt Taurtis, Inspired By Tumblr, It's Minecraft my guys, It's hard as hell to tag this because I add them all as I go, Minecraft, Minor Injuries, Near Death Experiences, POV Outsider, Season/Series 06, Taurtis Joins Hermitcraft (Instead of Grian), Taurtis slowly befriending the Hermits and trying to make sense of his past!, Temporary Character Death, Video Game Mechanics, Watcher Grian, Watcher Taurtis, Watchers, World Travel, Worldbuilding, not-so-near but y'know, post-Yandere High School, so uh more to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25886827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikaOtter/pseuds/MikaOtter
Summary: No person's fate is set in stone. One punch after the other, Taurtis and Grian persisted. Past childhood, past neglect, past abuse, past even their own endless, world-destroying fate.The two managed to survive, hurtle after the other, side-by-side despite the hiccups. What with the promises they owe, they figured that would be their lives for eternity. Grian and Taurtis, together till the end of it all.It seems the universe had a different plan for the two, not one any person had anticipated.
Relationships: Charles | Grian & Taurtis, Taurtis & The Hermits
Comments: 31
Kudos: 202





	1. Easy come; easy go (Prologue)

Taurtis mindlessly continued to toss his extra supplies into the chest. His communicator tablet hovered beside him, displaying the pixels representing blocks- primarily cobble he had carved to make room for Taurtis Land’s Tunnel of Love & Despair.

With a click of the screen, he swiped the abundance of stone towards the chest. Stacks of the minimized cobble tumbled into the wooden box, his inventory finally cleared. 

Giving himself a moment to be proud at the slight self-improvement- even if it came at the cost of a slowly growing collection of chests- Taurtis grinned.

Pulling himself out of the hole-in-the-ground storage room, he hummed.

Taurtis’ gaze flickering towards the hot air balloon above him. Of course, he knew he should sleep. The thought repeating in his mind as he attempted to make himself budge, to pull himself up the ladder. The balloon wavered in its place as the wind whistled, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees.

“There’s enough time for one more mining session, right?” The raven-haired explorer would mumble. A shiver ran down his spine as the cool night air picked up, the fence post tethering his hot air balloon creaking.

Taurtis winced, wishing for a moment he hadn’t rushed to remove his starter base. The thought of traveling to stay the night at Grian’s empire flickered in his head for a moment, before quickly dismissing such a thing as the hisses of spiders lingered in the woods.

“You signed up for this when you made a hot air balloon for a base, Taurtis.” He’d mutter to himself, rubbing at his eyes. Pulling himself up the ladder, he landed in the basket. The wooden planks creaked beneath him as it adapted to the additional weight.

As the wood settled, the man crawled onto the bed. Thoughts continued to run through his head as he laid their, dread pooling in his stomach. Something in his mind just was screaming at him _danger, don’t sleep, danger, danger, danger-_

Growing frustrated with himself, be pulled the blankets over him, holding a grip on the hem of the sheet. With his spare hand, Taurtis gripped hold of his communicator. Pulling up his MP3 files, he began rotating the songs on his device.

He allowed the music to numb the night’s noises, deafening him from the outside world. Resting with his eyes shut, Taurtis drifted between sleep and consciousness mindlessly through the night, before at last, it all went quiet. 

The first thing Taurtis was aware of was the mind-numbing silence. His eyes shot open. The surrounding of the blue-cladded figure was the senseless void. He floated in the space for a moment, his muscles stiffening. “Hello?” He’ call out.

By now, he’d typically have already seen the distorted figure, resembling him. Sitruat, as he had dubbed the figure. As that thought passed through his mind- the grey, looming entity appeared affront of him.

“?esoprup er'uoy fo erawa uoy era ,sitruaT” The figure spoke. Their head cocked to the side unnaturally, as it stared at him with deadish eyes. Taurtis’s muscles stiffened, the hairs on his body standing on end. It sounded as if complete gibberish but yet..It just made sense to him.

“Not...Not exactly. You said me and Grian would have time- that was our deal, wasn’t it? We’d have time to...To, to learn more? And test us?” He’d test his voice- desperate for the fear not to be evident in his tone.

Sitruat’s eyes grew narrower, purple translucent wings spreading behind them. Their limbs shook in place, as if it was a malfunctioning video graphic. As their glitching and contorting faltered, it’s true form flickered in his vision.

The strange, black void of a body. Like a shadow, it’s lithe, shrouded hand raised. The grey illusion of a person- of himself- followed the motions, attempting to cloak itself. Taurtis took a sharp breath, his muscles cringed as a sharp ringing began to emit from the being.

“.uoy gniromuh fo hguone dah ev'eW .sitruaT ,htob nairG dna su detcartsid ev'uoY” They spoke somberly, a pair of cold eyes staring expressionlessly down at him.

“What do you mean? I’m not- I’m not distracting him! I’m not distracting you- I’ve done what you asked of me. We’ve both done what you’ve asked of us- haven’t we? I’m.. I’m not doing anything wrong!” Taurtis fumbled over his words, his thoughts scattered at the ringing noise grew and grew, consuming his senses.

As Taurtis spoke, Sitruat merely grew more and more uninterested. The figure had grown hazy, it’s previous form resembling the man lingering as a translucent figure masking the shadowy being beneath it.

“T⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ᓵᔑリリ𝙹ℸ ̣ ʖᒷ ᔑ ∴ᔑℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ᒷ∷ ⎓𝙹⚍リ↸ ╎リ ||𝙹⚍”

And then, there was nothing. The presence of Sitruat being replaced with nothing but purple particles. Taurtis mouth was agape, staring speechlessly ahead of himself, as he was sent to slowly drift deeper into the void.


	2. Chapter 1: Discarded and Adrift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, one moment, one event, can change the outcome of more than what you could know.

Taurtis wasn’t sure how long he had been drifting through the void. The unnatural environment around him never had gone through and distinct or identifiable changes. He had been left with nothing but himself and his thoughts.

He was sure that Sitruat, or perhaps just a low-ranking Watcher, had been keeping surveillance on him, right? They were always ones to claim they’re watching everything. Or do they not care enough to deal with the task of observing him anymore?

These thoughts lingered in his mind idly, his chest slowly rising and falling as he continued on, as he’d been. He wasn’t sure what was left to do. He wasn’t capable of dying out here, as far as his knowledge went.

The hunger couldn’t kill him. It didn’t before. Nor would the lack of hydration. His body may begin to feel the pain of such things, but it wouldn’t last long. Death never did, not for him, it seems.

Amidst the nothing, the lonely figure took a sharp breath, before exhaling. Taurtis idly ran his hand through his curly-waved hair, attempting to busy himself.

Anything would be better than nothing. But it seemed, the void had exactly that to offer; nothing. As these thoughts ran through Taurtis’ head, something was.. Different. His gaze flickered across his surroundings, as he attempted to pinpoint the source. It was then he noticed something.

For a moment, a white light would ripple in the abyss, like a strike of lightning, before swiftly fading. Taurtis’ eyes shot open. Had they been happening the whole time? Had he just failed to see them? It made no sense to them.

Growing more aware of his surroundings, the young, rogue Watcher floated adrift in silence, attempting to see the occurrence once more.

As he had hoped- another ripple of light appeared. The ripples had begun to grow noticeably closer to him, anxiety beginning to pool in his stomach. “What are those things?” He’d mumble to himself, his limbs curling in on him.

More and more ripples of light began to strike and fade around him, and Taurtis hadn’t known what to think of it. It seemed he wouldn’t have much longer to gather his thoughts, as another light crackled and faded mere feet affront of him- a coolness admitting from them.

Without time to process this development, another light flickered into existence- and the next second, the lost Evolutionist was gone.

Light flooded his senses, a sharp ringing echoing in his ears- and then, he landed on something with a thud.

Taurtis gasped for breath, his head shooting up he pushed himself to his hand and knees. His eyes were blown wide, rapidly attempting to adjust to the light and survey his surroundings. He could hear chatters of confusion, a mix of accents he had mostly never occurred before.

Eyes at last adjusted enough, he could make out at least twenty people in the surrounding area. “..This definitely isn’t Evo, huh?” Taurtis dryly chuckled, an awkward smile plastered upon his face as he nervously glanced about the crowd.

“..Not exactly. How did you get here?” A masculine figure cloaked in a space-like suit painted… Strangely enough as a turtle- spoke, taking a few steps forward. The man cautiously offered a hand up, of which Taurtis hesitantly took. “I fell in, apparently.” The raven-haired man forced a laugh out of himself.

The surrounding players’ reactions varied- confusion, concern, skepticism- Taurtis took a shaky breath, turning back towards the helmet-wearing man. “Sorry if I caused a scene. I just… I went to bed, and when I woke up, I was falling out of… Nothing, I guess-” 

Helmet-Turtle-Man- who was seemingly the leader, took note of this, as he typed away at his communication tablet hovering aside him. “This sort of thing wouldn’t be a Hermitcraft first,” they’d assure.

Turning towards the others gathered, the leader cleared their throat. “The beginning of Hermitcraft Six can begin. Most of you know where the districts are, so be sure to get to work! Everything should- hopefully- be functioning correctly, and remember to report and issues to me. Best of luck!”

And just like that, most of the gathered figures cheered and had begun to scatter- some waving at Taurtis in greeting, before taking off. A few of the strangers had remained, however- two of the more seemingly human of them.

“Are you all good there, Love? You looked pretty spooked, though I would too in your place.” A lady spoke, her brows furrowed in concern. Taurtis coughed, shrugging.”I.. Yeah, i’m fine.. Uhh.. Thanks, though.” He’d attempt to wave off.

“None sense! Suma? You have the info on him yet? Are his vitals and the like alright?” She turned towards the Turtle-Themed man- Suma? Who’s barely readable expression read as confusion, as he faltered at whatever sight was on his screen.

“I don’t know- they’re not on the member list..Well- this has happened before, as well, I suppose..Can we get your name, then?” Their head tilted to the side, patiently awaiting an answer from the newcomer.

“Uh..Right, I’m Taurtis. Can I maybe get your names, now? There’s like.. A lotta you.” Taurtis chuckled, glancing between the three. The third- last to speak up, extended his hand. “Joe Hills, at your service. Always bound to be a curious time when new people are added to the mix. A pleasure to meet you, I hope X-eye-Sha-Shwammy can get you all sorted with ease.” The Southern fellow greeted, shaking Taurtis’ hand.

The former-Watcher couldn’t help but feel slightly more confused than when he started- but either way, something about the calm man helped put him slightly at ease.

“Right, and I’m Stress Monster. We’re the Hermits. I landed myself with them last world hop, you’ll manage to settle yourself in just fine.” She offered a warm, cheery grin.

Taurtis paused for a moment, tilting his head towards the turtle-themed man. “So does..This all happens.. Regularly?” He blinked, staring in bewilderment. “Well- sort of. When we’ve done all that we can do in our world, we generate a new world. Especially when new discoveries are found. This is Hermitcraft Six, on an altered base Earth with officially registered version 1.13.”

Staring at the man for a moment, Taurtis felt himself growing flustered as the words went right over his head. The Watchers hadn’t been the most generous with sharing the knowledge of how exactly the ‘versions’ and world worked.

“Uh.. Right! Sounds.. Super cool.” He coughed, growing a tad uncomfortable. _Come on, don’t make them think you’re stupid!_ “Oh, X, you forgot to tell him your name, Love!” Stress had lightly scolded the turtle man- X- his attention being drawn off of Taurtis and towards her.

“Oh, right. I’m Xisuma, i’m the admin of the Hermits. I can answer any questions i’m sure you have, we need to get some of your information down.” Xisuma chuckled awkwardly. “You two should go get your starter bases settled, you don’t want to get to behind the others.” 

And like that- the two others were off, waving the both of them goodbye, departing with words of encouragement for Taurtis.

That left the admin and the newcomer. Xisuma’s gaze surveyed the youthful-looking man, who still appeared visibly on edge. “Let’s get started, shall we?” He spoke kindly.

“Alright, sure.” Taurtis spoke, a lopsided smile spreading which didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hit me with the questions, Mr. Bossman!” He exclaimed, bouncing on his heels. Xisuma chuckled, nodding along. “Right, then..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) i wrote the prologue and this first chapter in probably 24 hours. Please, please kill me... Don't expect daily updates, I just wanted to leave it with something more than just a prologue!  
> If you're interested in hearing more about this au, feel free to check out my Tumblr, where I discussed and planned some of this. https://give-grian-rights.tumblr.com/  
> also,, imagine knowing how to end chapters??? couldn't be me.


	3. Chapter 2: Bit by Bit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New world, new challenges, new bases, and new acquaintances!

Having answered all the questions he could, Taurtis was finally free to go find his way around the world. He had managed to understand..Most, of what Xisuma had explained about Hermitcraft. Taurtis even knew which district he wanted to settle in!

The group functioned a lot different than anything Taurtis had gotten to experience. These people were certainly more experienced in..All of it, then he and Grian are. He shook his head at the thought, continuing to make his way towards the Pirate district.

“Grian will probably be able to find a way to get to me, right? I mean.. He’s him..He has to know I’m missing..” Taurtis had muttered to himself, before quickly shrugging it off. “I get a head start on learning more about these different versions! Total advantage for the Taurtis Republic…” He’d chuckle to himself, an uneasy smile rested upon his face.

  
Not letting himself linger on his thoughts for long, he rummaged for material like wood from the oak trees, managing to get half a stack of logs. His fists sore, and inventory already filling with a messy assortment of items he’s received from his journey so far, he quickened his pace.

Following the map displayed on the tablet, Taurtis didn’t let himself wonder off or distract himself any longer. Finally, it seems he reached the bay where the map said the pirate builds would begin.

Nothing was notably constructed yet- he wasn’t sure who all had planned on building in the area. Some torches were scattered along the bay of a few islands, signs notable on the island skewed from shore.

The thought of not being to far off from all the others, strangers they may be, comforted him to some degree. The map projected on his tablet had said that the land he was standing on what was to be the shopping district- so it sounds like he won’t be as disconnected as he had been previously.

With these thoughts of reassurances, Taurtis began setting up a temporary work area to begin constructing.. Some sort of pirate-y base. Pulling up his inventory on his communicator, he dragged the icons for wooden planks into the small crafting grid, filling the four slots with the planks.

Clicking the icon for the crafting table, the object manifested in his hand. Mindlessly placing it on the shore, the object fabricated and Taurtis had gotten to work. Crafting a stack of oak slabs,Taurtis didn’t leave himself to overthink it and turned to make his way into the ocean bay.

Pulling dirt into from his inventory, Taurtis tested the waters of this world’s gravity. Building a strip of dirt, the newcomer used up his supply of dirt. This landed him with just about equal distance from the shoreline, and the large chunk of land the communicator’s map displayed as the pirate’s district.

A much smaller piece of land was now visible past the pirate island, but Taurtis was happy with his place on the water. It hadn’t taken long for his rickety raft of sorts to begin being built.

A long log atop the water, followed by three rows of slab flooring, and another log, repeating the pattern once more. Taurtis’ hope would be to build onto it, or construct a real ship overtime. But for the night, he’d need someplace to stay.

The raft alone wouldn’t do much to shelter him though, it’d seem. The raven-haired player stood on the raft for a moment, attempting to think of an easy, quick expansion.

Of course, it seemed he had managed to make the “quick expansion” meant him rebuilding his raft entirely. A log was dipped three times lower, and built upon to expand the length of the raft. Though, now, the raft had quickly managed to become a.. Questionabley constructed ship.

A pair of trap doors dropped to the below deck, and so Taurtis had, at last, a shelter for the night.

It seemed he couldn’t have gotten his timing better, as the sun had sunken past the coast, an orangish, pinkish sky dimly illuminated, as the last lingerie of light reflected on the sea.

“Okay, can’t get distracted..” Taurtis’d mutter to himself, shaking his head. A placid smile graced his face. Something about the sky and the ocean just seemed far more interesting than he’d ever seen. It certainly held more life than any body of water he’s seen in his life.

Despite the beauty of the ocean, he couldn’t distract himself forever. With careful strides across the narrow dirt path, he made his way back to the mainland. “..Gord, I definitely did not plan on how i’d get back and forth to the boat, huh?” He’d chuckle quietly to himself.

Fidgeting with the handle of his wooden sword, Taurtis had begun to warrily trek his way through the shopping district, trying his luck to find some sheep. “C’mere, sheepy sheepy sheepy.. C’mon, guys, I just need to make a flag..” He’d hum, glancing around.

Much to Taurtis’ displeasure, it’d seem the world didn’t plan on making his night easy. The rattling of a skeleton wordlessly dropping from a tree broke the eerie silence of the night. The undead anchor paced closer, drawing back the string of the bow.

Taurtis attempted to scurry around it, but it did little to stop the arrow from hitting his upper arm. With a grunt of effort, Taurtis sprung forward, slashing the animated dead.

The skeleton drew short charges on it’s bows, attempting to quickly shoot it. “Why won’t this stupid thing die- again-” Taurtis grunted, continuing to swipe the sword at the creature’s chest. Taurtis- ever uncoordinated, had fought with the pile of walking bones with his spare hand, pulling back and shoving away the arrow the skeleton would summon.

Thinking he might need more force, Taurtis curled his other hand back on the grip of the sword and continued striking at the skeleton, attempting to use more force. The Skeleton mercilessly had shot point-blank at Taurtis’ chest with an arrow, causing him to audibly yelp.

Slamming a hand against his mouth- not wanting to draw attention to himself from any zombies- Taurtis hissed out in pain.

Apparently, it seemed, he had gotten noticed by a zombie. Just not one he had expected to encounter. “Ah-ha!” cried a voice. A blur of sickly green contrasting against a fiery orange followed. The figure striking the top of the skeleton with a wooden sword.

The figure grinned widely, before turning towards him. “Good Gods, where might you have learned to fight like that?” She snickered, a bemused smile across her face as she tilted her head to the side.

Well. If an undead lady probably half a foot taller than you, carrying a sword wasn’t intimidating, Taurtis wasn’t sure what was.

“It was.. Coming along- I clearly just needed one more hit, pfft-” Taurtis awkwardly chucked. “And my fighting’s fine!” “Fine? Mate, how long had you been fighting that thing? Blimey! I could just see you swinging your sword like you were a blind bat!   
The quicker you hit it, the less damage it does. But I’m not particularly one to ask for fighting advice.” The woman had mused, shaking her head.

Beaming with a wolfish smile, she extended a hand. “Your that fella I heard about, falling outta the portal, huh? Sounds typical for a new Hermitcraft launch!” She cackled. “I’m Zombie Cleo, hope you’ll find yourself settling in here aight on your first night!”

Feeling a bit more at ease, Taurtis let out an easy laugh, shaking her hand. “Yeah.. That..That was embarrassing...Heh... I’m Taurtis! Uh- Yeah, everything’s been pretty cool so far! You guys have been like, super nice. It sounds like you’ve all done a buncha cool stuff!”

“Hermitcraft’s always a trip, never a dull day when you’re around us! I really hope you settle in alright. You pick a district yet? I plan on bunkering down at the main pirate island for the night! Last thing I want is to deal with more nasty mobs.” Cleo had chuckled, her arm dropping to her side.

  
Taurtis grinned, nodding vigorously “Yeah! I plan on living in pirate district, too! I already got a little boat set up.. It’s, uh, not the greatest.” He’d chuckle. Cleo shrugged, waving him off. “Oh, I’m sure it’s not that bad! There’s plenty of time for improvement, mate. I plan on just digging myself a cave for the night! I’m not dealing with any of this. I showed up late today, and I’m absolutely beat..”

Humming along, Tautis nodded. “Yeah, I plan on fixing it up and rebuilding something better- hopefully. I just wanted to finish it up before I try and rest, y’know?” He’d chuckle, glancing off.  _ Not falling asleep anytime soon _ , he mused to himself. _ Can’t make the same mistake twice. _

“Hm..Alright, then. Be sure to keep an eye out! Try not and claim the first death, Yah? Though knowing the others, Scar probably already got that title..Heh, I look forward to seeing you around!” She waved, giving him a finale wish of good luck before turning and stalking off into the direction of Pirate Island.

The night was still young, and the groans of mobs echoed throughout the shadows. Making himself stand up a bit straighter, Taurtis took a breath, inspecting his wounds. Easily pulling the two arrows from his arm and chest, the wounds had already begun to close.  _ The wonders of servers, huh?  _ He quietly snickered to himself.

“Can’t overthink this..C’mon, Taurtis. They’ll heal. Stop getting distracted and let's get the boat finished.” He’d mutter, setting out to journey further into the unknown, and strange territory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this at almost 2am and wrote it on-and-off for like,, a week or two idk but proof readings not very pog. pls.. kudos.. COMMENT.. i live for validation


	4. Chapter 3: The Living Keep on Living, Until They're Dead From All The Dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This way of living never does come easy, not to most. No amount of safeguards quite can shield any community from the pain that comes from their inconsequential death. Hermitcraft is of course no exception, especially not for a player with track record like Taurtis'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Christmas Island, by AJJ! tw for temporary death! It's Minecraft. You get it.

Sheep weren’t the hardest to find. With a lack of iron, or resources in general..Taurtis had taken out two birds with one stone, collecting both meat and wool. Leaving two sheep behind in the herd, he had a choice to make.

The dark moor rattled and hissed with the sound of mobs seeking a target, he knew this. But the night wouldn’t pass particularly fast in his small ship cabin. Taurtis also knew that he’d passed a cave on his quest for sheep. And, well.. A productive night sounded better than one left to his own thoughts.

Taurtis was only looking away from his surroundings for a moment, he’d swear. Quickly fidgeting with the tablet, he was merely pulling up his inventory to find his torches. That was all it took for him to be marked the first death of the season.

Looking away for a mere moment, led to a creeper approaching him. Taurtis was never the most observant, of course leading him to this situation a multitude of times. It never does make it any less frustrating, nor painful.

He heard the explosion before he felt it- he saw the illuminating light, and then he saw the spark of particles, and the explosion- and then he felt the heat on his skin, the blistering pain, and the thick, wooly texture of his white sheets beneath him.

The player gaped, shakily breathing as he gasped at his side- no blisters or burn had been visible on his skin, but the pain still lingered. Taurtis couldn’t quite control his rigged posture and gasping breath, the way his hand had trembled. He was far more familiar with death than most- a trail of thought he was _not_ ready to go down.

Alerts had rapidly been binging from his communication tablet which had popped up at his side, the screen displaying the wall of text from the messaging board. 

_Taurtis was blown up by Creeper_ _  
_ _ <Docm77> i had money on scar dying first _ _  
_ _ <Docm77> dang. _ _  
_ _ <Stressmonster101> doc! _ _  
_ _ <GoodTimesWithScar> ..Next season can I be made aware of this betting? realisticaly the best choice _ _  
_ _ <Xisuma> do i need to make a rule to not gamble on the death of fellow hermits?? _ _  
_ _ <Docm77> thats talk of someone who just lost ten diamonds _ _  
_ _ <Stressmonster101> mate you doing ok? respawn alright?? everything in the systems look right for respawning, X??  
_ _< Xisuma> yeah his vitals say he respawned   
__< GoodTimeWithScar> should i go check on him?i know the struggle of respawning_

For a moment, Taurtis just watched the chat go by, in a sort of confused bemusement. It was..Both comforting, yet odd. He felt like he was imposing on something, the clear bonds already set in place in the community.

It eventually hit Taurtis, that he most definitely should respond, before someone actually comes looking for him.

When he had shifted upward to type out his respawn, he let out a sharp yelp of pain, as he accidentally prodded at the raw-feeling skin. He was sure it was red- while no physical wound was likely to be left, the effects of it most certainly were fresh.

Mumbling incoherent words, Taurtis fumbled with the tablet, as he shifted to lie on the side opposite of the wound.

_ <Taurtis> hi im totally fine i die a lot this is normal for me sorry don’t worry _

He had rushingly written out, cringing awkwardly. Taurtis mumbled, shoving the tablet away. He felt cold, beneath the deck of his small ship at sea. The wool blankets hadn’t provided much comfort, as the cotton-like material grated at the formaly-charred skin inflicted by the explosion.

Anytime the strayed watcher had stirred or shifted, another short ripple of pain would shoot throughout him. Explosions were never the easiest, or quickest death to get over- He was sure his lack of sleep was no help. 

There was no way he could make himself get out of bed at the moment, to find his items. Nothing was really worth the effort anyway, the only thing of value amongst it was a quarter-of-a-stack of torches, his wool, and food.

The first death of any world always had hit the hardest for most players, whether physically or mentally. Taurtis was no exception, especially as someone hailing from a permadeath world. He had many deaths, from his recent time in Evo.. A scary amount of encounters with death even from his world-of-origin as well, but it definitely didn’t make it any less shocking. Or humiliating.

Taurtis had no such desire to sleep, but he couldn’t help but melt into the bed. He couldn't bear the thought of moving, as he gripped and pulled the blankets to his chest. Though he wasn’t sure when or for how long, he was slipping between consciousness, his eyes weighing heavy.

Eventually, he had heard the noise of the trapdoors leading down to the below-deck creak open. Taurtis’ head snapped up, heterochromatic eyes shooting open. At the entrance, stood a slim, scarred brunette. An old, pale scar had ran over the Hermit’s face, who had an expression painted as one of concern.

“Well, uh, hi there! Good to know you're awake, at least. Creeper deaths are always the worst- weird, annoying things, always ruining everything.. I’m Scar!” They beamed, dipping their head to the side. The stranger- Scar- had a tired, worried expression as he surveyed the bedridden man.

It took a moment for Taurtis to realize he was expected to speak, but he pushed himself to sit straighter, nodding. “I’m Taurtis! Though, considering you walked into my house- or, uh, boat- you must’ve known that. How’d you find me?”

“Oh! Cleo, she got woken up by the chat’s messages. She knew you were in the Pirate District with us, so that limited down your locations quite a bit! At least once we realized you definitely weren’t at spawn. Cleo ended up dying shortly after..It’s almost Dawn and no one had heard of you! We figured someone should come check on the new guy.” Scar had kindly explained.

Guilt settled in that Taurtis had seemingly been the reason Cleo was woken- and, subsequently, lost her first life of the season. It seemed the Hermit had noticed this response, and quickly came to reassure him. “No, don’t worry about it! Cleo said she was just slumped over asleep in a little cobblestone box. She wouldn’t have lost long in there, anyway.”

Taurtis let out a breath of relief he hadn’t realized he was holding, and nodded. “Alright, well that’s good at least..Well, as good as sleeping in a box and dying could be. Thanks for checking in on me. Wait- you said you’re in the Pirate District, too? Awesome!” 

Scar had chuckled, nodding excitedly. “Yeah! I have this whole big plan for a big pirate island and volcano... The terraforming is gonna be so fun to work on.

I know you’re just getting started and all, but do you have any big plans? X didn’t really mention anything about working to send you back someplace, and, well, looks like you’re starting to get settled and all..” He’d trail off.

_..Guess I am staying here, huh? Not like the Watchers will let me return anytime soon.._ Taurtis shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind- electing to not think about his world. He didn’t want to get upset, or angry, not in front of an essential stranger.

“I’m not to sure in terms of big plans, but I think I want to make a big ship? I’m not exactly one for planning. But the ocean looks so cool! Besides, I’m used to building with woody-rustic-old style type stuff..” Sure, he had the opportunity to build with a much broader spectrum, after…-During his learning experience.

Evo only had so many palettes to choose from, and in The Flat World, rustic homes were easy and fun to build- something Grian had been able to easily grasp, and help Taurtis with. But now there was no Grian, and he, regretfully, only had so much experience under his belt.

If Scar noticed how spacy Taurtis was, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Yeah! That sounds really cool though, Taurtis. I think pirate’s a really fun theme to build with!  
It’ll be a lot easier after we’re done with the early game, too. I can’t wait to get some good tools again..It’ll make my terraforming a lot faster. And your log chopping!   
Heh, sorry for intruding here. It looks like you’re ready to go back to moving.. I hope you didn’t lose anything important.” Scar rambled off a little bit, but Taurtis didn’t mind. He always enjoyed having someone, or something, to listen to. It was comforting to have something to fill the quiet space.

“Heh! Yeah..Enchantments and all that..” He’d chuckle awkwardly- he could vaguely remember the info given to him in training, about the enchanting system. “I didn’t really have anything on me, though! So I’m not worried or upset about it. Though I did lose my wool, for the sails..Dang.” He’d sigh, earning a small chuckle from Scar.

“I’m getting out of your hair, I should get back in the mines! I’m sure someone already got the first diamonds .Good luck, I really hope you’re able to settle into Hermitcraft, okay. It really is an awesome place. Don’t be afraid to talk in-chat, we’re all happy to have a new face!!” The Hermit beamed, dipping his head before emerging above deck and taking off across the dirt bridge, probably on his way back to his own base.

Taurtis had remained in bed, for another moment. He was already out above the covers, and the lingering ghost-pains of the fatal wounds had dissipated. The raven-haired player remained in his place, tracing the outline of an old scar, from an old friend.

He was thankful the explosion had happened opposite to the closed wound, it was always the deaths near-permanent injuries that hurt the most. T _aurtis the Hermit..Sure. I can work with this_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm never gonna abandon this project, I swear i'm finishing this even if It kills me. I basically wrote all of this within two days... Have mercy on my soul. and COMMENT. PLEASE. COMMENT. ACKNOWLEDGE ME. it's what keeps me going! Feel free to also ask questions on Tumblr or just hang out!  
> https://give-grian-rights.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> And so, it's the beginning of it all, it seems.. If you're interested in hearing more about this au, feel free to check out my Tumblr, where I discussed and planned some of this. https://give-grian-rights.tumblr.com/  
> Comments and bookmarks are appreciated more than you could know. Be sure to stick around for more!


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